


Nothing is Always Perfect

by ItIsWhatItIs9194



Series: Love is caring for each other even when you're angry One Shots [5]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Adoption, Angst, BDSM, Discipline, Future Fic, M/M, Noah is 13, Past Abuse, Sad Harry, Safewords, Spanking, dom!Louis, dom!Noah, harry is 39, louis is 43, past emotional abuse, please read the tags, sub!Harry, use of safeword
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 19:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9340850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItIsWhatItIs9194/pseuds/ItIsWhatItIs9194
Summary: At first, it was just little things, like Noah not listening when Harry told him it was time for bed, or to do his homework.That escalated into more, however.Or, the future fic where Harry and Louis' Dominant son exerts authority over Harry, but Harry keeps it a secret until everything goes too far.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this one shot! This takes place in the future, and of course it goes along with my fic "love is caring for each other even when you're angry" as all of these one shots do! 
> 
> If you haven't already, please check out my ageplay one shot I posted and my fic with Teddy1008 "Like A Dream!" :)
> 
> Enjoy!

At first, it was just little things, like Noah not listening when Harry told him it was time for bed, or to do his homework.

That escalated into more, however.

Harry was preparing dinner for their small family as he did every night, humming softly to himself as he cooked. They were having homemade mac and cheese, which was Louis’ favorite meal. The sub wanted to be an extra good boy today, and he figured making his Dom’s favorite meal would help with that.

Their thirteen-year-old son, Noah, was playing video games in the living room, having only been home from school for an hour. The couple had adopted the boy when he was only one day old, back in Manchester when they were 26 and 30. One Direction ended in 2018, when they were 23 and 27. They were all getting a bit too old to be in a boyband and were eager to start families. Now they were 39 and 43, living in the heart of London in a ginormous house with their son. Neither of the men worked anymore, seeing as they had all the money they needed to last more than a lifetime. Instead, the men enjoyed time alone when their son was at school, and time with their son when he wasn't.

Sometimes, Harry wished Noah was a sub. He despised thinking that way, he really did, but Noah could be extremely difficult to handle at times. Whenever this thought came into his head, though, he pushed it away, feeling guilty and like a bad father.

He loved his son, he really did.

“Noah!” Harry called from the kitchen, not wanting to leave the stove unattended. He didn't receive an answer, though, and the living room was only next door to the kitchen. “Noah!” he tried again, letting out a huff when he received no answer.

Louis was out playing golf with Niall, so Harry couldn't exactly ask him to get their son for him.

“Oh my god,” he groaned, reluctantly deciding to finish what he needed to do on the stove before he left to find Noah. The teen just hadn't been listening to him lately—ignoring him on purpose—and it irked Harry to no end. He was blatantly disrespectful to Harry, a lot of the time.

Five minutes later, Harry was finished with his work on the stove, so he placed the mac and cheese in a large glass dish before making his way to the living room. Just as he expected, Noah was sitting on the couch, controller in hand. He was engrossed in the game he was playing, clearly wanting to win. Seeing that he was a Dom, Noah was competitive in everything.

“Noah,” Harry said from the entryway, trying to get his son’s attention. This proved to be unsuccessful, however, as Noah just continued to play his game. Fed up, Harry marched over to the Xbox and unplugged it, causing Noah’s eyes to widen.

“What the fuck, Pop?!” he shouted angrily, slamming his controller down on the couch. “I was playing that!” He sat back and crossed his arms, a frown on his face.

“I called your name three times, Noah, and didn't receive a response,” Harry said calmly, taking a seat in the armchair across from where Noah was sitting. He never felt comfortable scolding his son, as Louis usually did that, but he felt even more uncomfortable doing it whilst standing up. “You're not allowed to curse, either,” he added, though not sternly. He didn't have the traits within him to really scold somebody, even if it was his own son.

Noah rolled his eyes, standing up. “No,” he said with a shake of his head, crossing his arms and standing in front of his papa. “You're not allowed to curse because you're a sub; I am, because I'm a Dom,” he growled, digging a finger in Harry's chest.

The sub shrank back into his chair, suddenly becoming a bit frightened. He knew his son wouldn't hurt him, but he absolutely hated whenever someone scolded him. “I … okay,” Harry said hesitantly with a nod, choosing to let this one go and tell Louis about it over dinner.

Noah opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could, the front door opened. “I'm home!” Louis shouted happily, coming into the room with a big smile on his face. “What's going on here?” he asked when he saw the looks on his son and sub’s faces.

“Nothing,” Noah answered quickly. “Hi, Dad!” he said nicely, scurrying over to hug Louis. Harry bit back a sound of jealously. Noah had favoured Louis from the beginning — always preferring him to give him a bath, help him with homework, or drive him to and from school.

Louis hugged his son back, giving Harry a look of concern while he did so. The sub just gave him a tight lipped smile and a thumbs up in response, nodding his head. The Dom, although confused, decided to let this go for now and ask about it at dinner. It was rare that Harry ever lied to him anymore, so he tried to push the thought of him doing that away.

“Go set the table for dinner,” Louis ordered Noah after they pulled away from the hug. The teen obeyed without a second thought, smiling as he headed to the kitchen. What he did didn't surprise Harry — he always listened to Louis, but not him. “Hi, love,” Louis greeted, pulling Harry in for a kiss. “Were you a good boy today?” he asked, caressing Harry's cheeks softly.

The sub smiled at the attention he was receiving. “Yes, Sir,” Harry replied, nodding. “Your good boy.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Noah fake gagging but ignored him. His son was just being unnecessarily rude. “I made your favorite dinner, too.” The man smiled proudly, blushing a little.

Louis smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners. “Oh, darling,” he sighed wistfully, “I don't deserve you,” he commented, kissing Harry's cheek and leading him into the kitchen. Harry giggled, squeezing his Dom’s hand.

Just as Louis had asked him to do, Noah had set the dining room table neatly. Every place had a plate full of mac and cheese, silverware, and a napkin. He hadn't done drinks, because those were different every night. “Thank you, Noah!” Louis praised his son when he saw the setup. Noah smiled proudly, taking his seat.

Louis pulled Harry's chair out for him, then made his way to the fridge to grab their drinks. “Can I have Coke, please, Dad?” Noah asked Louis politely. If only he could talk to me like that, Harry thought sadly.

The man nodded. “Sure,” he said pulling out a can of Coke for his son. “Harry?” he asked, turning towards his sub.

“Can I have wine?” he asked hopefully. “Please, Sir?”

The blue-eyed Dom shook his head. “I'm sorry, Harry, but it's the middle of the week — you can only have alcohol on Friday and Saturday nights,” he told his sub sympathetically. “Don't want you to be too tired. How about some water?”

“Okay, Sir,” Harry agreed reluctantly, allowing Louis to place a glass of water at his spot and kiss his cheek. The sub glanced at Louis’ glass of red wine jealously but didn't say anything else on the matter. He knew Louis was just looking out for him — everything he did was always in his best interest.

Noah smirked from his place across from his parents, shoveling some macaroni in his mouth.

“What's so funny?” Louis asked the boy with a puzzled look on his face. “This is wonderful, by the way, babe,” he interrupted himself to praise his sub.

“Thank you, Sir,” Harry replied, dimples showing.

Out of the blue, Noah burst out laughing, shaking his head to himself. “He'll do everything you say,” the teen observed. “Stupid little sub.”

Harry looked down at his lap, fighting back tears. He didn't know what he'd done to cause his own son to hate him so much. In his opinion, he'd raised him to the best of his ability, but that just wasn't enough, apparently.

“Hey,” Louis said sharply, eyes narrowed. “That is no way to talk to your father — submissive or not,” the man scolded, effectively getting Noah to quit laughing. “There is nothing wrong with a sub who is willing and eager to please. Apologize.”

Noah sighed, looking ready to bark out a retort, but stopped himself at the hard look on his dad’s face. The tears collecting in Harry's eyes didn't phase him a bit — his papa just wanted attention, he knew, which made him scowl. “Sorry,” he grumbled, picking at his food.

Harry simply nodded at his son, reaching a hand up to wipe his eyes. The man continued to eat his dinner, quietly conversing with his Dom the rest of the time. Noah stayed quiet.

He just didn't understand what he’d done wrong.

_____

It was the worst part of the day. The time of day that Harry absolutely dreaded, because Noah simply wouldn't listen to him. Louis was asleep on the couch, seeing as he’d woken up early to babysit Liam’s kids. So it was Harry's job to get their son in bed on time.

Taking a deep breath, Harry approached the teen, who was playing video games once again. “It's time for bed, Noah,” he announced. “It's 11:00.”

Noah rolled his eyes, looking around his papa to see the TV screen. “I don't care,” he said, waving him off. “Shoo.”

Harry gaped. Sure, Noah was quite rude to him sometimes, but he'd never told him to leave the room. “Noah,” Harry said more firmly — as firmly as a submissive could. “Up to bed, please.”

“Fuck off!” the teen shouted, shoving Harry backwards. The man stumbled but was able to keep his balance. That didn't mean he wasn't damaged, though. He was completely and utterly damaged, not understanding why his son was treating him like he was dirt. Letting out a sob, he ran upstairs and jumped on his and Louis’ bed, crying himself to sleep.

Downstairs, the commotion had woken Louis up, and Noah didn't feel the least bit guilty. The teen blocked out the sobs he could hear from upstairs, continuing to play his game.

“Why is Harry crying?” Louis asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Noah shrugged innocently. “I don't know — probably bad memories from Aunt Gemma or something.” Technically, he wasn't lying. Whenever the teen insulted Harry or made him feel bad about being a submissive, the man had flashbacks from his childhood about his sister, Gemma, verbally abusing him for being a sub. Noah didn't care, however. His papa was a grown man — he could handle it.

“Oh no,” Louis said sadly. “Go to bed, please, it's late,” he ordered their son. “I’ll go check on papa.”

“Okay,” the boy obeyed, turning off his game. “Good night, dad,” he said, hugging the man tightly. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” the blue-eyed Dom replied, rubbing his son’s back soothingly. “Sleep well.”

Once he was sure Noah was in bed, Louis opened his and Harry's bedroom door slowly, not wanting to startle him. “Baby?” he whispered, sitting on the bed and stroking Harry's head that was still full of curls. “What's wrong, hmm?”

Harry shook his head, letting another cry out. “N–nothing,” he said, trying his hardest to calm down. “I'm f–fine.”

Louis made a noise of disapproval. “You and I both know that isn't true,” he scolded lightly. “Talk to me, yeah? You can tell me anything, remember?”

The sub nodded, wiping his eyes. “Y–yes,” he said, sniffling.

The Dom smiled. “Remember when we first got together?” he asked, the memory of a shy, timid 16-year-old Harry making him beam. At Harry's nod, he continued. “You were so scared to talk to me about your feelings, but it all worked out in your favour, didn't it?”

“Y–yes,” Harry agreed and sat up slowly, fiddling with his fingers nervously. “It did.”

“Exactly,” Louis said. “So, tell me, what's wrong, honey?”

“Memories of Gemma,” Harry said with a shrug, like it wasn't a big deal. “It's nothing.”

Louis shook his head sadly. “Now, that isn't nothing,” he said. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, Sir. No thank you,” the sub replied, shaking his head rapidly. “Wanna sleep, please.”

Although the Dom had always thought it was better to talk about your feelings instead of keeping them bottled up inside, he allowed his sub to rest, knowing his boy was tired from working around the house all day and crying. Plus, he'd learned over the 23 years he'd been with Harry that he’d always get his feelings out of him eventually. The man couldn't hold them in for too long.

_____

“Shit!” Harry cursed when he dropped the knife he was using to chop up fresh veggies. The sharp instrument had just barely missed his toes, nearly giving the man a heart attack.

He nearly jumped ten feet in the air when Noah appeared at the doorway, his arms crossed. “I heard you,” the teen said with a blank face. “You know you're not allowed to curse.”

The sub continued chopping the veggies, not bothering to look at his son. He knew he'd just become even more disappointed in himself if he did. “It was an accident,” he mumbled, placing the veggies in a bowl.

“You can't make mistakes when you're a submissive,” Noah spat, grabbing his papa’s arm roughly. Harry stared in his son’s eyes fearfully. “I'll tell dad,” he threatened.

Harry kept a straight face. “Subs learn from their mistakes,” he corrected the boy. “And I don't care; I'm going to tell him myself, anyway, because we don't keep secrets.”

“Because you're a suck up,” the teen retorted with a roll of his eyes.

“No,” Harry began calmly, shaking his head, “because I'm a good submissive.”

Noah abruptly turned Harry around, seeming stronger than his papa even though he was 26 years younger. He was a Dom manhandling a submissive, after all. The sub squeaked, his back now facing his son’s chest. He had a fairly good idea of what Noah was going to try to do, but he didn't want to believe it. “Submissives never talk back to Dominants,” Noah reprimanded, landing a sharp smack on Harry's bum. The force of the hit didn't feel like anything compared to what Louis could do, but tears sprang to his eyes out of embarrassment.

“Louis!” the sub screamed, squirming. “Red!” The submissive was crying, mortified at the position he was in. Noah stopped at the use of Harry's safeword, but he knew it wasn't to get his attention — it was to get Louis’.

“What's wrong?!” Louis shouted frantically, running down the stairs. His eyes widened at what he saw — his submissive leaning over the counter, hands on his bum, and Noah watching with mortified eyes. He quickly raced to his sub, bringing him into his arms and over to the couch. “Shhh, baby,” Louis soothed, rocking them back and forth. Noah watched awkwardly from the entryway, unsure of what to do. How could he have done this? Guilt finally began to overtake him as he watched his hysterical papa.

Trying to be helpful, he brought a bottle of water in for Harry, and Louis carefully brought it to his sub's lip. The man drank eagerly, beginning to calm down.

“Can you tell me what happened, please?” Louis requested softly, caressing Harry's cheek. “Did Noah do something?”

The teen’s face went pale at his dad’s words, especially when Harry nodded his assent. Louis looked at him hard. “Sit,” he commanded, pointing to the chair across from them. “Can you tell me what he did?” the man asked at Harry's nod. “It's okay.” He ran a soothing hand through Harry's hair.

Harry knew he couldn't lie — the entire situation had become too much, and he needed his Dom’s help. Plus, lying to Louis wasn't something he enjoyed doing, and he hadn't done it in a long time. “Noah reprimanded me for cursing—which I was going to tell you about, by the way—and started spanking me!” he explained, trying not to cry more at his admission at the end. “This isn't the first time he's asserted authority over me, either,” he admitted, wiping his face.

Louis’ face crumbled, not wanting to believe their son would do something like this. They were hesitant about getting a baby who was a Dom for that reason specifically, but neither of them thought anything like this would actually happen. “Noah,” Louis growled, positively fuming. “Apologize to your father for everything you've done, and then we're going to have a chat.”

“I–I’m sorry, papa,” Noah apologized. “For everything — I mean it.” The teen got up to give his papa a hug, Harry surprisingly hugging him back.

“Alright, let's talk,” Louis declared, causing Noah to take his seat once again. “How long has this been going on?” he asked no one in particular.

“A few months,” Harry answered quietly, biting his fingernails. “Um, it started with little things, like, he just wouldn't listen to me, but it gradually escalated,” he did his best to explain. “Eventually, he was downright rude to me and now the spanking …” he trailed off, humiliated that he'd been spanked by his own son.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Louis asked quietly, feeling like he'd failed in his role at being Harry's Dom.

Harry shrugged. “I don't really know,” he admitted. “I guess I was afraid he would make it worse,” he said uncertainly.

“And all this reminded you of Gemma?” he asked, putting all the pieces together.

The sub nodded, taking a deep breath.

“Noah, let's have a chat,” Louis said, scooting towards the end of the couch. “If you're ever going to have a submissive, you need to be able to take care of them and love them — not degrade them for their tendencies that they cannot control,” he said firmly. “Your papa has been nothing but a wonderful father to you, and you owe him love and respect in return.”

The teen nodded. “I know,” he said, looking down, ashamed.

“Clearly you don't, because we wouldn't be having this discussion right now if you did,” the blue-eyed Dom said sternly. “You have a lot to learn before you can be a proper Dom in eight years.”

“Okay,” Noah replied. “I'm sorry,” he said yet again.

Louis shook his head exasperatedly. “Why did you treat your father this way?” he asked. “Because it's downright disgusting behaviour on your end.”

“I don't know,” the boy said, closing his eyes to stop his tears from falling. He didn't know exactly why he was crying, but he figured it was all the guilt he was feeling. He knew he deserved it. “I got tired of a sub telling me what to do, I guess.”

“You need to see your father as my submissive — not yours,” Louis told him firmly. “He is your father, and because he is, you will listen to him just as you do me.”

Harry watched the situation unfold quietly, not really knowing what to say.

“No TV or videogames for a month, and you will help your papa cook dinner every night,” Louis ordered. “And you will always show him respect, because he is your father and he loves you with all his heart.”

“Okay,” Noah said sadly, getting up to hug Harry once again. “I'm so, so sorry, papa,” he cried, squeezing the man tightly. “I love you so much — I really do.”

Harry gave his son a tight lipped smile. He was still hurt and angry, of course — he probably wouldn't forgive his son for awhile. However, he was simply too nice to not express his still undying love for his son. “I love you, too, baby,” he replied, kissing his boy’s cheek. “Always will.” The sub gave his son a real smile, thankful to have him in his life, even though things weren't always perfect.

 


End file.
